GOP Rep. Max Miller resists pressure to drop reelection bid as party anxiety grows over abuse claims

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Republican Rep. Max Miller of Ohio resisted pressure Wednesday to exit his reelection campaign for Congress, even as anxiety over his electability was growing within his own party.

Miller is facing a congressional ethics investigation related to domestic abuse allegations leveled against him by his ex-wife but is insisting he won't withdraw. “I’m not going anywhere,” he told CNN on Wednesday.

The second-term congressman's actions in a parade of public appearances — beginning with a livestream from his X account Sunday — are heightening concerns among Republicans, who have only until Monday to replace Miller on the November ballot if he were to change his mind and withdraw.

Some senior House Republican campaign strategists worry that Miller’s chances of reelection in the competitive Cleveland-area district have vanished in light of the renewed attention on the allegations and his attempts to defend himself, according to a source familiar with the strategists' thinking who requested anonymity to discuss internal party deliberations.

Messages left for Miller were not returned.

Miller said in a CNN interview earlier this week that he had spoken about his reelection prospects with President Donald Trump, who told him, “I don’t know if you’re going to be able to, you know, pull this one out."

Miller, a senior adviser to Trump during his first term, said he believes he retains strong support within his district and can raise the money needed for a winning campaign. Miller has so far raised about $2.1 million, compared to his opponent's $603,000, according to federal filings.

“There’s no chance that I’m removing myself from this race,” even if Trump were to ask him to step aside, Miller said in a Newsmax interview Tuesday evening.

He had previewed his decision to stay the course over the weekend when he went live on the social platform X and posted a huge cache of documents related to the divorce and custody cases involving him and his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, the daughter of Republican U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno.

Democrats view the fresh scrutiny on the long-running custody battle and Miller's public attempts to defend himself as a potential opening to flip a seat as they seek to retake control of the U.S. House in this year's midterms.

Miller's Democratic opponent, Brian Poindexter, a union ironworker, capitalized on the controversy in a pitch to potential donors Wednesday. He accused Miller of “moral bankruptcy.”

“His own party won't stand behind him. His own family has said he's not fit to serve,” he said, referring to comments by Sen. Moreno, who said the congressman lacks “the basic standards of character required to hold elected office.”

To allow his party to name a replacement by a 4 p.m. Monday deadline, Miller would have to formally withdraw by sometime Saturday. That's to give enough time for the required 48-hour notice of a meeting of the Republican Party chairs from the four Ohio counties in his district who would name his replacement.

On Tuesday, the House Ethics Committee announced it had opened an investigation into whether he “may have engaged in domestic violence and abuse or illegal drug use.” A group of Democratic lawmakers had also said they wanted an investigation into Miller's conduct. Earlier, Miller himself called for review by the House panel.

The committee's announcement came a day after it recommended another lawmaker be censured after finding he had engaged in inappropriate behavior with young female aides.

The accusations against Miller by Emily Moreno and by a former girlfriend, one-time White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, have been public for years but have drawn increased scrutiny in recent weeks. Emily Moreno has said Miller scalded, hit and threatened her while they were married, allegations Miller has denied.

Miller also said he had nothing to do with a recent broken collarbone on their 2-year-old daughter that led Emily Moreno to contact authorities.

FILE - Rep.-elect Max Miller, R-Ohio, arrives for new member orientation check-in and program registration with Emily Moreno in Washington, Nov. 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades, File)

FILE - Rep.-elect Max Miller, R-Ohio, arrives for new member orientation check-in and program registration in Washington, Nov. 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades, File)

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The United States announced on Wednesday that it had suspended all government operations in the Mexican state of Michoacan because of a "threat to U.S. interests," including a halt to the inspections of avocados required for their export.

While the U.S. Embassy did not specify the nature of the threat in its security alert, Michoacan Gov. Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla said on social media that the temporary halt to inspections was intended to safeguard workers following recent arrests linked to extortion. The inspections are necessary for avocados to be shipped to the United States and their suspension could disrupt exports.

The western state of Michoacan is the leading exporter of avocados to the U.S. and has a high level of organized crime activity with at least four cartels — designated as terrorist organizations by the Trump administration — operating in the region. Besides trafficking drugs, cartels also make money through extortion, including of the avocado industry.

Michoacan State Security Secretary Antonio Cruz told The Associated Press that one of the arrests mentioned by the governor was of “El Poncho,” the alias of Alfonso Fernández Magallón, leader of a local cartel operating in the avocado-growing region around Los Reyes.

U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson welcomed the arrest, which came over the weekend. The U.S. government had offered a $5 million reward for Fernández Magallón’s arrest.

Cruz said his department was unaware of any direct incidents involving the avocado inspectors. Nevertheless, 300 security personnel were deployed to the Los Reyes area as a preventive measure.

The governor said the priority was to “ensure the security conditions necessary for these operations to resume normally,” as has happened in the past.

Mexico supplies approximately 80% of U.S. avocado imports - a product known in the region as “green gold.” Its cultivation generates around 200,000 jobs in Michoacán alone.

In 2025, Mexico sold $3.65 billion worth of avocados to the United States, and in the first four months of this year, those exports rose by 35% compared to the same period in the previous year.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture sends inspectors in Mexico to monitor plantations and packing houses to ensure that exported produce is free of pests. Threats and violence against the inspectors have caused the U.S. to suspend inspections in the past.

FILE - Crates of avocados wait to be processed at a packing plant in Uruapan, Mexico, Feb. 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Armando Solis, File)